WATCH
November 26, 2025 story by A Current Affair, Australia. Fake 1-star Google review extortion hits Australian small businesses, and Sam Cucchiara interviews one of the Bangladeshi perpetrators. Kay Dean of Fake Review Watch says Google is to blame, as well.
WATCH
November 6, 2025 story by FRANCE 24. Small businesses in France and Spain are being targeted with fake 1-star Google reviews by scammers to extort money. The extortionists post the reviews, often AI-generated, and then demand payment to take them down. The scammers appear to be based in Bangladesh, according to Kay Dean of Fake Review Watch.
WATCH
August 26, 2025 story by News 6 in Orlando. Several businesses in Central Florida have been targeted with fake 1-star Google reviews. The businesses are then extorted by individuals with Pakistani phone numbers who want payment to remove the reviews. Kay Dean's research formed the basis of this story, and she is interviewed.
WATCH
July 9, 2025 story by WBTV Charlotte. Hmm, a guy from Thailand posts 5-star Google reviews for a weight loss and wellness clinic in North Carolina, a New York chimney cleaner, and a restaurant in Georgia. There's more, and Kay Dean gets to the bottom of it.
New FTC Rule Cracking Down on Fake Reviews Falls Short
WATCH
July 30, 2024 story by FOX 26 Houston. Google removed hundreds of reviews for a Houston area dental group for "policy-violating content." Why? "Because they were fake," says Kay Dean of Fake Review Watch, who published a report back in April on fake Google and Facebook reviews for the dental group.
FRW Investigation Leads to News Award
Dave Bohman and Trey Herbert won the award for best hard news story from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists. The story about fake online reviews was based on a FRW investigation into fake negative Google and Facebook reviews for a Florida contractor.
CBC Radio: Online Reviews are Increasingly Fake
WATCH
Fox 9 Minneapolis reports on FRW investigation: A Minnesota dental practice is getting Google reviews from people who are also reviewing the same vape shop, the same Florida locksmith, and the same Australian restaurant. "Not believable," says Kay Dean. Fox 9 says the Minnesota Board of Dentistry is apparently skeptical as well. See the FRW report here.
Manhattan Surgeon Investigated by FRW Fined by NY Attorney General
SFGATE Profiles Kay Dean and Fake Review Watch
WATCH
Fox 4 Kansas City reports on Fake Review Watch investigation: We all want to trust that five-star review. But some Kansas City metro businesses have had hundreds of them removed after fraud expert Kay Dean called them out for having fake reviews.
WATCH
The Today show on NBC airs a segment focusing on a Fake Review Watch investigation into fake Yelp, Google, and Facebook reviews for a Los Angeles dentist.
Story in Time Magazine Highlights Fake Review Watch Research
WATCH
Investigate TV explores the growing problem of fake online reviews. Includes interview with Fake Review Watch's Kay Dean.
KNBC Reports on Fake Review Watch Investigation of Yelp Elites
WATCH
Based on our research, Australia's "A Current Affair" aired a story on fake Google reviews for a "dodgy" Melbourne dentist.
NBC Bay Area story based on our research about Yelp Elites being recruited on Instagram to post fake reviews for cash.
NBC Affiliate WTHR Channel 13 in Indianapolis reports on a Fake Review Watch investigation about fake Facebook and Google reviews for an Indiana pediatric dental practice.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigation into 1200 North American businesses getting fake Google reviews features Fake Review Watch.
Listen
We were on NPR's Reveal Program!
Kay Dean of Fake Review Watch leads Reveal's correspondent into the underworld of fake online reviews.
Visit our research library on our YouTube channel!
Yelp Touts AI, Ignores Fake Reviews
Yelp has a new AI toy, but they're not using it to find fake reviews, that's for sure. Mindful Health Solutions, with psychiatric clinics in four states, continues racking up fake reviews even though Yelp says they're on it. Yelp Elites are even being paid to give Mindful Health 5-star reviews. Yelp's not looking out for consumers, not doing what they say they do, and certainly not using AI to clean up their polluted platform.
Yelp Abets Review Faking for Moving Companies
The feds are investigating moving companies that rip off consumers, but maybe they should be investigating Yelp as well. Four moving companies are receiving fake reviews across 14 Yelp pages. This case follows the trail from two previous Fake Review Watch investigations and media stories which Yelp belatedly acted on, but does Yelp do anything proactive? No. It allows the faking for the movers while consumers get duped.
Objection! Fake Google Review Network Boosts Law Firm, Bashes Animal Hospitals
Google is saturated with fake reviews. See what one network of fake Google profiles has been up to during a two week period. The same profiles are propping up Ohio law firm Patituce & Associates, an Australian hair salon, a Chicago moving company, a Massachusetts nail salon, and a Florida locksmith with fake 5-star reviews while simultaneously review bombing two Vancouver animal hospitals with fake 1-star reviews.
Exposing Yelp's Bogus Recommendation Software
You can't trust Yelp for reliable reviews, in part because of its bogus recommendation software. Why are reviews for different businesses by the SAME person simultaneously recommended and not recommended by Yelp? Hey Yelp, is this person reliable or not? Perhaps something else is going on here. . .
10 Reasons NOT to Trust Google Reviews
Fake Review Watch details the multiple reasons why you should NOT trust Google reviews.
More Yelp Elite Corruption Via Instagram
Online marketers use Instagram to recruit Yelp Elites to post fake reviews for cash. In a Fake Review Watch exclusive, a Yelp Elite provides details of how this goes down on Instagram. We then examine other Yelp Elites the same marketer is following on Instagram.
Network of Google Profiles Faking Reviews for Dentists
Hello, Google, anyone home? A network of Google profiles is providing fake reviews for businesses, including dentists in Texas and Washington. Mason Park Dental in Katy, Texas, Dentist Tree in Houston and Cypress, and dentist Dr. Addie Chang in Tukwila, Washington, are all receiving 5-star reviews from this network. However, Dr. Bill Pope, a pediatric dentist in McAllen, Texas, is getting review bombed with 1-star reviews from this same network.
Review Seller Brazenly Posts His Fake Yelp Profiles on Facebook
A review seller on Facebook advertises that he has Yelp reviews for reasonable prices and posts a couple of his Yelp profiles for all to see. Following the trail, we find fake reviews for a Bay Area contractor, Serenity Remodeling, and other businesses. Yelp recommends these reviews as trustworthy. So much for Yelp's highly touted recommendation software.
Facebook Facilitating Fake Reviews for Pediatric Dentist
Smiling Kids Pediatric Dentistry in Indianapolis is receiving fake Facebook recommendations and Google reviews. A ring of offshore review providers operating in a Facebook group appears to be behind the reviews.
Fake Google Reviews a Global Problem
The worldwide ocean of Google reviews is rife with pollution. A New Jersey medical clinic, a German software company, an art gallery in Dubai, a UK flooring and furniture company, and a Pakistani logistics service, among other businesses, are receiving Google reviews from the same profiles. Some of these profiles are even using lifted photos of Hollywood figures as their profile pictures.
Bangladeshi Facebook Group Fakes Google & Trustpilot Reviews for U.S. Businesses
U.S. businesses use a Bangladeshi Facebook group to post fake Google and Trustpilot reviews. Businesses faking include The Center: A Place of Hope, a mental health facility in Edmonds, Washington; Southern California Pain Consultants in Torrance; and Rheumatology Therapeutics Medical Center in Los Angeles.
See How Multiple Review Sites Are Gamed
Don't trust any online review site. This is a case study in how one contractor games multiple review sites. LA Green Development, a solar and roofing company in Los Angeles, is faking reviews on Yelp, Google, Facebook, Buildzoom, Houzz, Porch, the Better Business Bureau, and Angie's List.
Who We Are
Taking the Fake Review Fight to DC
Taking the Fake Review Fight to DC
Fake Review Watch is run by Kay Dean, a former federal fraud investigator, who has conducted an in depth investigation over six years into fake reviews on Yelp, Google, Facebook, and other review sites. Photo by Lance Yamamoto/SFGATE
Taking the Fake Review Fight to DC
Taking the Fake Review Fight to DC
Taking the Fake Review Fight to DC
Kay Dean recently met with US Representative Jimmy Panetta to discuss the fake review problem, the culpability of the review sites, and the need for Section 230 reform. Stay tuned. . .